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STEVE THE DUNG BEETLE

ON A ROLL

An informative, well-illustrated story that clarifies the key role of dung beetles in the natural world.

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Steve, a dung beetle, explains the importance of his work to other animals in Stoltz’s picture book.

Young readers learn about the role that dung beetles play in helping our environment. As Steve rolls a ball of dung home, he meets an African elephant, a warthog, a spotted hyena, and other interesting African animals. Stoltz’s story clearly aims to appeal to curious young minds who want to learn about hardworking beetles and other compelling fauna on the African continent. The text is written in short but effectively fact-filled conversations between Steve and other animals as he works. As he rolls the waste, he spreads seeds to “plant trees and flowers,” he says. Readers also learn that dung beetles help “control the amount of flies and other insects that bite and annoy” warthogs. Later, a spotted hyena cheerfully tells Steve: “Your poo is out of control!” as Steve humorously tumbles down a hill. When Steve arrives home and consumes the “juicy” dung, another beetle declares: “What would we all do without you, Steve?” Bailey’s painterly illustrations are detailed, realistic, and full of color. The mandrill’s hues are vibrant, and its furry head crest is impressive; the distinctive scales of the pangolin are also lovely.

An informative, well-illustrated story that clarifies the key role of dung beetles in the natural world.

Pub Date: March 15, 2022

ISBN: 9780578935508

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Lyric & Stone

Review Posted Online: Dec. 23, 2022

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PETE THE CAT'S 12 GROOVY DAYS OF CHRISTMAS

Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among

Pete, the cat who couldn’t care less, celebrates Christmas with his inimitable lassitude.

If it weren’t part of the title and repeated on every other page, readers unfamiliar with Pete’s shtick might have a hard time arriving at “groovy” to describe his Christmas celebration, as the expressionless cat displays not a hint of groove in Dean’s now-trademark illustrations. Nor does Pete have a great sense of scansion: “On the first day of Christmas, / Pete gave to me… / A road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” The cat is shown at the wheel of a yellow microbus strung with garland and lights and with a star-topped tree tied to its roof. On the second day of Christmas Pete gives “me” (here depicted as a gray squirrel who gets on the bus) “2 fuzzy gloves, and a road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” On the third day, he gives “me” (now a white cat who joins Pete and the squirrel) “3 yummy cupcakes,” etc. The “me” mentioned in the lyrics changes from day to day and gift to gift, with “4 far-out surfboards” (a frog), “5 onion rings” (crocodile), and “6 skateboards rolling” (a yellow bird that shares its skateboards with the white cat, the squirrel, the frog, and the crocodile while Pete drives on). Gifts and animals pile on until the microbus finally arrives at the seaside and readers are told yet again that it’s all “GROOVY!”

Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among . (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: Sept. 18, 2018

ISBN: 978-0-06-267527-9

Page Count: 48

Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: Aug. 19, 2018

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2018

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THE WONKY DONKEY

Hee haw.

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The print version of a knee-slapping cumulative ditty.

In the song, Smith meets a donkey on the road. It is three-legged, and so a “wonky donkey” that, on further examination, has but one eye and so is a “winky wonky donkey” with a taste for country music and therefore a “honky-tonky winky wonky donkey,” and so on to a final characterization as a “spunky hanky-panky cranky stinky-dinky lanky honky-tonky winky wonky donkey.” A free musical recording (of this version, anyway—the author’s website hints at an adults-only version of the song) is available from the publisher and elsewhere online. Even though the book has no included soundtrack, the sly, high-spirited, eye patch–sporting donkey that grins, winks, farts, and clumps its way through the song on a prosthetic metal hoof in Cowley’s informal watercolors supplies comical visual flourishes for the silly wordplay. Look for ready guffaws from young audiences, whether read or sung, though those attuned to disability stereotypes may find themselves wincing instead or as well.

Hee haw. (Picture book. 5-7)

Pub Date: May 1, 2010

ISBN: 978-0-545-26124-1

Page Count: 26

Publisher: Scholastic

Review Posted Online: Dec. 28, 2018

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